JoJo Romero: Bullpen Behemoth Or Trade Package Afterthought?

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In what may have come as a bit of a shock, the Brewers struck their biggest deal of the deadline with the St. Louis Cardinals, a notable division rival. The last time these two franchises did business was in 2015 when Milwaukee sent Jonathan Broxton to St. Louis in exchange for Malik Collymore, so it’s been a while, to say the least.

What was even more surprising than the trade partner was the package. In exchange for Dustin May and JoJo Romero, the Brewers gave up Josiah Ragsdale and Alexander Frias, two highly-touted prospects. Dustin May is responsible for the bulk of the value coming to Milwaukee as he’ll reinforce an injury-ridden rotation and does carry some meaningful upside.

However, JoJo Romero is no slouch either. He was mentioned on DiamondCentric’s list of Top 80 trade targets and has had a decent season with the Cardinals, posting a 3.35 ERA over 43 innings. But as a rental reliever, how much does he actually bring to the table?

A quick glance at his Statcast numbers would suggest not much. The majority of his numbers are below average, and his average exit velocity of 91.3 mph places him in the fourth percentile among qualified pitchers. His 48.8% ground ball rate seems to be his only saving grace, but there must be more to the 29-year-old southpaw.

The only weapon in his arsenal with a positive run value this season is his sinker, which he has used as his primary fastball offering since 2022. It’s definitely one of the pitches of all time, which, in other words, means that it’s serviceable. Opposing hitters are averaging .265 against it, which isn’t totally out of the ordinary for sinkers. What’s more concerning is the hard-hit rate, which stands at 56.1%. He has gotten somewhat lucky so far, limiting the opposing slugging percentage to just .324, but it does seem like it’s only a matter of time before that levy breaks.

His secondary pitch of choice is a sweeper with quite a bit of movement. On paper, it complements his sinker well since there are 32 inches of net lateral movement between the two pitches. In practice, it has a whiff rate of just 26.9%. This is largely a location issue, as Romero lands almost half of his sweepers in the zone, which can result in considerable damage. Three of his five home runs have come against the pitch.

His tertiary offering is the changeup, which has been mostly uncompetitive this year. It has a chase rate of 34.6% and a whiff rate of 30.4%, which are satisfactory by themselves but hardly enough to compensate for the 17.5% zone rate, meaning it’s landing as a waste pitch far too often to be effective.

So far, this all sounds pretty underwhelming. But surely the Brewers, in their infinite wisdom, were excited about something if they wanted him included in the trade. But what is it?

To start, there’s a real bullpen need for left-handed pitching. Aaron Ashby seems to be falling apart before our very eyes, posting a gruesome 6.57 ERA and 4.31 FIP since the start of June. DL Hall recently returned from the injured list, but who knows what his readiness will be like. Furthermore, both of these players profile more like starting pitchers, boasting deep arsenals and excellent stamina.

Romero’s east/west tendencies seem to be what specifically made him stand out, as it’s also what Dustin May brings to the table. The Brewers don’t currently have a lot of it in their pitching staff, and adding what’s almost like a left-handed Grant Anderson in Romero gives opposing hitters yet another attack vector to prepare for.

As a ground ball pitcher, he’s more reliant on the defensive capabilities of his infield, which should be better in Milwaukee. The Brewers are exceptional up the middle with Brice Turang and Cooper Pratt, and now that Joey Ortiz is spending more time at third base, he also brings his exceptional glove to the hot corner. His understudy, David Hamilton, isn’t too shabby either. Together, this defensive ensemble should augment Romero’s run prevention abilities even if his intrinsic abilities remain unchanged.

There may be some pitch design changes that the Brewers decide to implement, but with two months left in the regular season, that may be asking for too much too soon. As a rental reliever, Romero’s value proposition seems to be adding a new dimension to the team’s pitching staff that synergizes well with Milwaukee’s infield defense.

JoJo Romero has the potential to be a solid piece of the bullpen and will likely excel in double play situations. He doesn’t have the stuff to take the ball in high-leverage situations, but he doesn’t need to be — the Brewers already have other guys for that.

If one is asked to decide whether he’s a forgettable piece of an already questionable trade or the man to finally take the Brewers to the World Series, the answer is probably something far less extreme. He’ll eat up important relief innings and get outs for the squad when needed. What more can one ask of a pitcher?